Manure-carrier.



N0. 637,l-|6. Patented Nov. I4, I899. T. G. &. E. HUDGINS.

MANURE CARRIER.

(Application filed Inn. 8, 1898.)

(No Model.) 2 SheetS-Sheet v wifnsssss f fnvgnzars.

No. 6 37,||6'. Patented Nov. l4, I899- T. G.-&. E. HOD'GINS.

MANUBE CARRIER.

(Application filed. Jan. 3, 1898. (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

W1 znss'ses .[nvsni'um UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS G. HODGINS, OF LUCAN, AND ELI HODGINS, OF BIDDULPH, CANADA.

MANURE-CARRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,1 16, dated November 14, 1899.

Application filed January 3 1 898.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it'known that we, THOMAS G. HODGINS, of the village of Lucan, and ELT HODGINS, of the township of Biddulph, in the county of Middlesex, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented a new and useful Manure- Oarrier, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a track for supporting a carriage which is particularly adapted for conveying manure from one place to another, but it may be used with equal advantage for conveying other material; and this invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, the object being the provision of a simple, strong, and durable device for this purpose, one which will be in- @Fig. 2 is a plan view of same.

hanger.

expensive to manufacture, light and easy to operate, and efficient in practical use.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, wherein 1 Figure 1 is a side elevation of a manurecarrying apparatus embodying our invention.

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of another curved guide by means of which one portion of the track extends at an angle to the other portion and at a difierent angle to that shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail side elevation of the track-wire Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are enlarged detail end, plan, and side views, respectively, of the curved guide which permits one portion of the track to extend at an angle to the other portion andat the same time permits the carriage to pass over safely. Figs. 8 and 9 are enlarged detail side and end views, respectively, of the carriage. In Fig. 9 part of the guide L, leverJ and side bar K are cut away and the ring L is not shown, in order to more clearly illustrate one of the swivelframes.

A designates the track-wire, the ends of which are firmly secured to the posts B and B by loops a, formed on the ends of said wire, engaging with hooks b screwed into or otherwise secured to said posts; but the ends of said track-wire may be secured to any suitable support in any manner or by any means found most suitable or convenient.

O designates a turnbuckle with which the Serial No. 665,371. (No model.)

track-wire A is provided for the purpose of.

tightening said track-wire when setting up or to take up any subsequent sagging thereof.

The screw-hook 19 which secures the end of the track-wire A to the post B, extends through said post, as shown in Fig. 1, and is provided with a nut 12 When so constructed, by turning the nut b on the outer end of the screw-hook b the track-wire may be further tightened when setting up or to take up any subsequent sagging.

D D designate hangers which are secured to the joists E, and said hangers are provided with an upturned end d for the purpose which will be hereinafter set forth, and in said upturned end d the groove or recess 11 is formed, in which the track-wire A is securely held and supported against accidental displacement. I

E designates a stop-block which is adj ustably secured to the track-wire A by a setscrew 6' or other suitable securing device.

F designates a curved guide in which the recess F is formed and which is provided with the arms F and G designates a bail the open ends of which are connected to the arms F and the arched portion with the hook H, secured to the post I or other suitable support.

'J designates a box or receptacle, and J a flap-bottom hinged at one side thereto by the hinges J and J 3 designates a lever pivotally mounted on the pivot-bolt J supported in the lugs J and the latter are secured to the box J. J designates a shoulder formed on this lever J 011 which the flap edge of the bottom J is supported when holding it closed.

J 7 designates a flange secured to or formed with the lever J and in this flange J an opening J is formed, and J is a bolt fixed to the box J and so arranged as to project through the opening J of the lug J and J is a coil-sprin g encircling the bolt J 9 and compressed between the box J and flange J and said spring-being so compressed adjusts the upper end of the lever from and the lower end toward the box J and withthe shoulder J under the bottom J.

K K designate side bars which connect the box or receptacle J with the beam L at two opposite sides.

L designates a guide in which a slot L is formed, and said guide is secured to the beam L, and through the slot L in this guide the upper end of the lever J projects in order that it may be held in line as it is adjusted to or from the beam L, and L is a ring secured to said guide, or it may be secured to any other portion of the box J, and L is a pulley the block of which is secured by the hook L to the post 13, and L is a rope which is secured at one end'to the ring L and extends over the pulley L and back again to the box J or to any point within the barn. The object of this construction is to render it unnecessary to go out of the barn to carry or unload the manure.

The side bars K K and the lever J 3 are each formed in two sections 7;, and and and respectively, which'sections are secured together by the bolts 7.; andj respectively, and said sections may be provided with a series of bolt-holes, so that one section maybe adjusted longitudinally on the other section to shorten or lengthen the side bars K andlever J as desired, and the bolts inserted in holes in the sections to hold them at this point.

M M designate grooved wheels which are supported by and revolve perfectly free on the axles N, and the latter are supported in the swivel-frames O, and each of said swivelframes 0 is secured to the beam L by a bolt 0, around the shank of which bolt the frame 0 turns horizontally for the purpose which will be hereinafter set forth.

This apparatus is set up as follows: The track-wire A is placed in position by firmly securing one end thereof to the post B, which may be a post or pillar forming part of the structure of the barn, and the other end to a post B, outside of the barn and beyond the place where the material is to be deposited. Then as the point where the track-wire extends arounda corner, or where the traveling of the carriage thereon would be interfered with by any object, or where from any reason it would be an advantage to have one portion of the track extend at an angle to the other portion, the curved guide F is adjusted in contact with said track-wire and the latter drawn clear of the corner or other object and held in said position by the bail G, hook H, and post I, as shown in Fig. 2. After which, by means of the turnbuckle C or nut b or both, the track is drawn taut or a tension formed thereon to firmly support the carriage. The hangers D are then secured to the joists E at suitable intervals and in such a position that the recess (I will be in line with the trackwire A, and the latter is adjusted and supported in said recess in order to prevent excessive sagging of the track-wire when a heavily-loaded carriage is traveling thereon. The swivel-frames 0 have an opening 0 formed in one side thereof as shown particularly in Fig. 9, by means of which they may be adjusted over the track-wire A until the grooved wheels M rest thereon, as shown in Figs. 8 and 0. These swivel-frames O are formed with a downwardly-projecting portion 0 which extends below the track-wire A and also below the curved guide F for the purpose of avoiding and completely preventing any possibility of the carriage jumping off or being accidentally disengaged from said track-wire or curved guide. At the same time the openings 0 in the swivel-frames 0 provide a convenient means for placing the carriage on or removing it from the track-wire, and the hangers D are provided with the upturned end d and with the depressed portion 61 as shown in Fig. 4, and the arms F are set down below the curved guide F, as shown in Fig. 5, to prevent the downwardly-projecting portion 0 of the swivel-frame 0 from interfering with these parts when the carriage is traveling on the track-wire A.

When this apparatus is in use in a stable, the track-wire A extends past the stalls within a convenient distance thereof and out through the doorway, and when the carriage is not in the vicinity of the doorway the tension of the wireis sufficient to hold it against the top of the doorway, so that by cutting a notch in the top of the door to receive the track-wire the latter may extend through the doorway and at the same time not interfere in any way with the tight closing or locking of the stable-door. Again, the weight of the carriage on the track-wire, when in the vicinity of the doorway, causes said wire to sag, so that when the loaded or unloaded carriage is passing through the doorway the track-wire will sag sufficient to permit the carriage to pass freely through said doorway.

The box J when loaded is adjusted on the track-wire A toward the post B by the rope L until the upper end of the lever J comes in contact with the stop-block E, which ad-,, justs the upper end of said lever toward and the lower end from' the box J and the shoulder J from beneath the flap edge of the bottom J, when the bottom by its own Weight, supplemented by the weight of the load, will automatically and instantly dump the contents of the box J, after which by another rope attached to the ring L the carriage may be returned to the stable, so that if the curved guide F was located just within the stabledoor the operator would not be required to move out of the stable in order to carry or dump the load at the required place.

The side bars K K and lever J are each formed in two sections, as before described, which sections are adjustable on one another to permit the box J to be adjusted a convenient height from the stable-floor in order that it may be readily and easily loaded or to adapt it to clear any outside obstacle.

WVhen the track has been set up, the operation of transporting and dumping the load is very simple. After the box J has been re turned to the stable for another load the bottom J is adjusted to the position shown in Fig. 8 and the shoulder J of the lever J engaged therewith, also as shown in the same figure. While the bottom is thus securely held, the box J may be loaded, after which the carriage is adjusted in the direction in which the track-Wire extends, and while passing over the curved guide F the swivel-frames 0 permit the pulleys to adapt themselves to said curved guide, and thus avoid and completely prevent the grooved wheels M from binding on or disengaging from the curved guide .while passing over the latter, and the stop-block E is secured to the track-wire at the place where it is required to dump the load, so that as soon as the carriage arrives at this point the upper end of the lever engages with the stop-block E, as before described, and releases'the flap end of the bottom J, which automatically dumps the load, after which the carriage is returned by any suitable means, one of which is hereinbefore described, and the track-wire resting free in the recess F of the curved guide F and the latter being secured to the post I by the arch of the bail G engaging with the hook H the curved guide F freely rises and falls with the tension and sagging, respectively,of the trackwire and adapts itself to the track-wire when in either position, and the carriage always retains its upright position irrespective of whether it is passing over the curved guide loaded or unloaded.

The result is that a simple, strong, and durable apparatus is provided, one which is inexpensive to manufacture and efficient in practical use, and one by which one portion of the track may extend at an angle to the other portion, or by the use of a number of curved guides said track may extend in a circle and permit the carriage to pass around the same.

This apparatus has been described in connection with transporting manure from a stable and automatically dumping the same at any required point; but it may be used with equal advantage for transporting manure to the field for distribution or for transporting and dumping any material, and we have found by experiment that the construction herein shown and described gives the best results. At the same time, while we prefer the same, we do not wish to limit ourselves to the details thereof, as they may be modified in various ways Without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having thus described our invention, we claim 1. A track, A, in combination with a curved guide, F, in which a recess, F, is formed and which is provided with the arms, F the bail, G, hook, H, and post or support, I, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A track, A, curved guide, F, and stopblock,E, in combination with a carriage consistin g ofthe wheels, M, M, the swivel-frames, O, 0, open at one side, and formed with the downwardly-projecting portion, 0 beam, L, side bars, K, K, box, J, provided with ahinged bottom, J, and lever, J provided with a shoulder, J substantially as and for the pur= pose set forth.

3. A track, A, curved guide, F, hangers, D, turnbuckle, O, and stop-block, E, in com bination with a carriage consisting of, a box,

J, a hinged bottom, J, lever, J provided with a shoulder, J the side bars, K, K, beam, L, swivel-frames, 0, open at one side and provided with the downwardly-projecting por tion, 0 and the wheels, M, mounted in said swivel-frames and traveling on the track wire, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

THOMAS G. HODGINS. ELI HODGINS. Witnesses:

J. E. Honcrns, I. H. HASKETT. 

